


Glow

by GroundZeroExplosionHero



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 03:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11119374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GroundZeroExplosionHero/pseuds/GroundZeroExplosionHero
Summary: Chara has been acting stranger than usual and it begins to worry Asriel. Though, as he's going through the school day, he begins to notice some deeper feelings than just worry for his best friend.





	Glow

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I wrote for my friend. All I can say is that I hope she likes it. This has to deal with some slightly darker themes, so beware if you're easily triggered.

Asriel roused from his slumber, yawning as he sat up. After lingering for a moment, he threw his legs off the side of his bed and stood, looking at the time. 6 AM. He’d woken up a little bit early, as usual. He’d go get his shower first so he could get his fur in order before going to school. He walked past Chara’s room, the door being left open. Of course, he saw Chara, who was still sleeping in her bed. Huh, strange. She was wearing a shirt with long sleeves, even though it was close to summertime already. He didn’t think much of it as he stepped into the water.

If he was being honest, he was glad the school year was almost over. The kids were ruthless, constantly messing with him just because he was a monster. The fact that he was the prince didn’t help any either. Who knew 14-year-olds could be so cruel? But, Chara was always there to defend him. He smiled as the thought crossed his mind as he was blowdrying his fur. While he didn’t approve of her methods, his best friend was there for him like she always was. 

Speaking of Chara, he should probably wake up her up. He had a feeling this would be one of the days that she might oversleep if he didn’t do something to prevent it. He changed his clothes in the bathroom and then went back to wake Chara. Surprisingly, she was awake for once. Though, she was strangely staring at the ceiling in an idle manner. Asriel raised an eyebrow at this disquieting action. He gave a knock on the door. 

“Chara? Uh, you okay?” He inquired. At that, she seemed to come back down to earth. She slowly looked back towards the door, sitting up.

“Hey, Azzie.”  


“Well, uh, are you about to get ready for school?”

“Oh, right…I guess.”

She got up with a sigh, stretching. She grabbed some clothes and went to take a shower herself. He moved out of her way, mild concern growing. Maybe it was just nothing. It wasn’t like she was doing anything worth worrying about anyway. Maybe she was just still sleepy. He sighed, going back to pack his bag. He made sure he had everything before going downstairs. Frisk was already awake, making breakfast with Toriel. The two were happily engaging in conversation, greeting them when he came down. He smiled, waving back at them and giving them a hello. Then, he sat down, idly drumming his fingers as he waited on breakfast. He was already hot enough because of his fur, so he switched his normal sweater and jeans for jean shorts and a dark and light green t-shirt. Chara, however, came down in her black jeans and sweater. Asriel glanced over at her, looking confused.

“Chara? It’s almost 90 degrees outside.” He pointed out. She looked at him, shrugging.

“Yeah, so?”  


“So…why’re you wearing a sweater?”

“Oh, shush. Don’t worry about it.”  


With that, she dismissed the issue and sat down. Toriel and Frisk came back over with breakfast. Chara and Toriel shared a similar version of the conversation Asriel shared with her. But, Chara refused to change out of her seater, not even rolling her sleeves up. It was worrying Asriel a little bit, but he didn’t let it get to him. The kids ate breakfast and then went out to the car. While they could easily walk to school if they wanted, Toriel was a teacher and it was more convenient for them to just ride with her. It also gave them some extra time to do homework after school if they wanted. The car ride was fairly silent, Frisk texting before she had to go into the building. She was more on the popular side while Chara was reserved. She only really talked to her, Asriel, and MK if he was around Frisk. Chara looked like she was already sweating from being in the car. Asriel took notice quickly but kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to potentially annoy her. 

Soon, they arrived at the school. Frisk waved goodbye to Asriel, Chara, and Toriel before she began to run off into the school to go chat with some kids beforehand. Chara seemed eager to get away too. She ran away, despite her already being hot. Asriel sighing, waving to his mother and assuring he’d see her later before calmly walking into the building. 

To avoid being beaten up or any other possible conflict, Asriel walked with his head down. He quietly scanned the halls. He saw the typical friend groups, the popular and the like. He managed to make it to his classroom with only some whispering about him going on. He sighed, walking through the door and then seeing Chara in her seat, towards the back of the room. There was a breeze coming through the window. Considering the fact that the teacher hadn’t gotten here yet, he assumed she did it to cool down.

She was staring out said window, listening to music with one earbud in. He gave a soft sigh of relief of only her being here, smiling as he walked over. He sat in his desk beside her. At the sound of him pulling out his chair, Chara turned towards him. She gave him a light smile, pausing her song.

“Hey, Azzie. Guess we’re the only ones in here today.” She said, shrugging softly. He smiled, nodding as he sat down

“Yep! Why’re you here so early? Don’t you usually hide out in the bathroom until it’s time for class?”

“Hah, yeah. But, not today. It’s too hot to do much of anything.”

“Well, you could always take your sweater off-“

“No.”  


Okay, Chara may have been his best friend, but he’d never heard a reply that blunt before. The tone clearly had him off guard. She realized, shaking her head.

“Sorry, didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t feel like taking it off, that’s all.” “…Alright then? If you say so.” 

Chara gave a nod, turning her gaze back to the window. Her movements seemed slow. She didn’t look tired, but…wait. Maybe she did look a little tired, but it looked weird. He was able to pick up on these small details, but it wasn’t too noticeable. He felt a strange concern arise and he was about to speak, but he was cut off with the loud commotion of kids coming into the room before the bell rang. Frisk was among them, sitting near the front.

The teacher walked in afterward and began the class as the bell rang. Asriel didn’t speak, not wanting to get in trouble. He knew he would get it from his mother if she heard from the teacher that he was acting up. Everyone was paying attention well enough, except for Chara. She was still listening to a song. Asriel was taking notes well enough when he felt a paper hit him in the back of his head. It bounced off and landed on his desk. He looked down, sighing as he opened it up.

‘You should just go back to the underground, you damn monster. No one wants you here.’

Asriel frowned at yet another hurtful comment from someone. Some quiet laughs and giggles could be heard from around the room. The culprit, a boy behind Asriel, had to hold back most of his laughter. Though, it died down when a pen hit him in the face.

“Leave him alone.” Chara told him, keeping a calm tone. The boy turned, growling some at her after her action.

“I’ll do whatever you want.” He threw back at her.

“Listen, honestly, I don’t give a shit if you’re a bully. Just don’t bully…Asriel, and we’ll be fine.” That was weird. Sounded like she was going to say something before Asriel. Asriel watched the scene unfold.

“Listen here, bitch,” The guy started. “I don’t care whatever relationship you have with this freak. If anything, you can go fall back down with him.”

Thaaaat was a little too loud to go unnoticed. The teacher turned around upon hearing talking. Silence overtook the classroom for a moment, Chara staring at the kid with a blank expression. Then, she turned, grabbed her textbook and threw it at his face. It hit its target dead-on, blood coming from the boy’s nose. 

“Ow! I think you just broke my fucking nose!” He cried in pain. She stood, walked over, and proceeded to kick the shit out of him. The teacher rushed over and grabbed her by the arm.

“That’s ENOUGH!” He yelled, barely restraining Chara for a moment. Then, she seemed to come back down to earth.

“Oh…well, it was his fault.” She commented, snatching her arm away and then crossing them. Everyone looked dumbfounded, especially Asriel. That was an especially cruel beating, even by her standards. 

“I can’t believe you, young lady! You just can’t do whatever you want!”

“So, you’re chewing me out when these assholes were messing with Asriel?”

“That’ll be handled at a later time. For now, you’re going to the principal’s office!”

“Figures. Useless, as always.”

“This is just unbelievable. I know you have potential and a good future ahead of you, but this isn’t helping.”

“Then you don’t know shit.”

Well, that response didn’t appease Asriel one bit. The worry was growing more and more as he sat there, idly twiddling his thumbs. All eyes in the room were either on him or Chara. He was panicking more and more by the minute. Chara scoffed, grabbing her stuff. He raised a hand.

“Chara,” He began before she shrugged him off.

“I’ll talk to you later, Azzie.”

And with that, she left the room. The teacher quickly rushed the student out of the room, telling him he’d be okay. The boy’s friends were left looking shocked before they shot glares at Asriel. It was so bad that he felt like they were killing him with looks. He broke into a cold sweat. They took the chance of the teacher not being there to get up and going over there.

“Look at this! Your girlfriend just tried to kill our bro!” One of them shot at him. He looked up, frowning.

“I-I’m sorry! I don’t know why she did that…” He whimpered, looking down. “…And she’s not my girlfriend.” “What was that, you twerp?”  
“S-She’s not my girlfriend…” They spent a moment in silence before they began laughing. “Of course she isn’t. Who would date a crybaby like you? You’re probably just in love with her and got friend-zoned.” He remained quiet as they laughed at him before going to talk about what might happen to their friend. He was not in love with her! There was no way! Just because he liked being with her all the time. Just because he kept a stash of chocolate for her whenever she was low on it. Just because she was the one person he trusted the most and would tell anything. Just because he talked about her and their antics constantly. Just because he missed the way they used to share a room and bed sometimes. Just because he absolutely relished the moments when he able to make her laugh or smile. Just because he loved her smile in general. Yeah, there was no way.

…Wait.

Okay, maybe he needed to sit here and give himself a talk. Did he really love Chara? He never thought about them being together before. So, he thought about doing things couples would do on a normal basis. Holding hands, snuggling (boy, did he love snuggling whenever Chara accepted it), hanging out, even kissing. He blushed under his fur at the thoughts. Yup, he really did love Chara. Nice talk, Asriel. Obvious feelings apparently weren’t obvious enough for you. The bell rang. At this point, Asriel just wanted to leave and go home.

After a few more classes, Asriel was at lunch. Chara was still on his mind and he was quite worried about her. He hadn’t seen her since she was sent to the office. He was looking around the lunch room, trying to avoid catching anyone’s gaze and cause more trouble. Suddenly, Frisk slid into the seat next to him.

“Hey, Azzie!” She greeted. She startled him, but he played it off well, giving her a smile.

“Hey, Frisk!”

“Today was crazy, huh?” 

“Yeah, it was. Hey, have you seen her around?”

“I think I may have seen her walking out of school. I’m pretty sure she got sent home. Mom’s not gonna be happy.”

Asriel frowned at this bit of news, giving a deep sigh. He looked down for a moment, pondering on what Chara might be doing at home. Or, if she was at home. He knew she wouldn’t complain about being out of school, but she probably didn’t want to deal with the wrath of Toriel when they themselves arrived home. Frisk could see the worry in his visage.

“We should really check on her,” Frisk started. “You could go home after her. I’ll cover for you.” She added on. Boy, that was tempting. But, he didn’t see how it would work.

“What makes you think she’ll tell me anyway?” He inquired. She raised an eyebrow.

“Because you’re you, Azzie. Plus, I can tell you have a mondo crush on her.” She replied, giggling. His face began to heat up, his blush visible from under his fur.

“I-I do not!”

“Your reaction isn’t helping your case. Also, I am a shipping master. Don’t underestimate my skills.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I can show you. You know Toby from our class? And Lily?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“They’re going to get together today. This lunch period. I can tell.” “What? How?”

“You gotta notice subtle signs, Azzie.”

“There’s no way!”

Suddenly, she looked to the side. Then she jerked her head gently to gesture in the said direction she did it in. He looked up and saw Toby walking across the lunchroom to Lily’s table. He got her attention and sort of moved her away from the table. They seemed to exchange some words before Lily stood on her toes and kissed Toby, who gladly returned it. They got cheers from their friends. Asriel just blinked, looking sort of dumbfounded. He looked back to Frisk, who gave him a knowing nod.

“Get on my level.” She teased. “Anyway, go ahead. I got this! Trust me, I’ll make sure you’re not chewed out by mom. I’m sure she’ll understand anyway.” 

“Well…alright! I will! Thanks, Frisk!”

They shared a hug for a moment before Asriel grabbed his things and then hurried out of the lunch room. Good thing their lunch was sort of a free period. He’d get in trouble if he was just seen roaming the hall. He ran towards the door, going out of them quickly before he was stopped by anyone. Once he was far enough away, he began to walk and catch his breath.

What could Chara be doing? Hopefully, nothing was too bad. But, he hoped she made it okay. She was wearing that hot clothing, now that he thought about it. And it seemed like she was acting a bit weird. He felt the worry sliding back into the picture. Maybe he should hurry up to the house. He picked up the pace, going faster towards his home. 

Upon bursting in, it was silent. Understandably so, considering the fact that everyone was at work or school. Or, was supposed to be. He looked around the living room area. Empty. He peeked into the kitchen. Empty. The lower floor was clear. He looked up the stairs, frowning.

“Chara?” He called up. If she heard him, she didn't answer. So, she either that, she didn’t hear, or she wasn’t in the house. He walked up the stairs, looking at her door. It was cracked, cool air coming out of it. Seems like she turned the AC on. He felt his worry die down some as he went to peek into the room to see if she was asleep or anything of the sort. His calmer state only lasted for a second before he saw her.

She was sitting on her bed, no longer wearing her sweater or jeans, now in a t-shirt and shorts. Huh, so she had a t-shirt on underneath. But, apparently, that wasn’t enough to make her take the sweater off. Asriel froze upon seeing her arms and legs. There were cuts, clear signs of self-harm shown on her body. There were some everywhere, but they were pretty cluttered on her forearm and wrist. They looked deep and painful, having the potential to make the entire family freak out. He came to the realization that she hid them with her long clothes, despite being hot, as he recovered from the immediate shock. The worst part about this is, there was fresh blood on her arm as she was sliding a knife across it, wearing a blank face. She wasn’t even flinching from pain. 

Fear and sadness gripped his soul, causing him to slam the door open.

“CHARA, STOP!” He cried. In her surprise, Chara dropped the knife. It clattered to the middle of the floor. She muttered a curse and tried to pick it up, but Asriel took it and shoved it in his inventory so she couldn’t get it. She let her hand fall, remaining silent. Asriel was clearly shaken, his breathing being on the erratic side. 

Silence fell upon the room for about a minute. Asriel couldn’t believe his eyes. Chara was just sitting on the floor at this point, looking down at the ground. The young boss monster tried gathering the courage to speak, but it took him a minute.

“W….what’s wrong, Chara? What happened?” He asked weakly. She shrugged, not looking at him.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Azzie.” She told him.

“You can’t tell me that! Not after this!” He rebutted. She fell silent for a moment before she let out a shaky breath.

“You wouldn’t understand.” “Well, let me try!”

Chara jerked her head up, giving him a hard stare. He flinched, looking back into her red eyes. They looked…sad. They looked hurt. They looked tired. It shattered his soul to pieces, but he didn’t say anything. She clenched her fists, shaking her head.

“You wouldn’t understand because you’re you, okay?”

“What…what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re you!” She began, suddenly shouting. He fell silent, letting her continue. “You’re so good and pure and people give you shit for it! You don’t have any ill will towards anyone! You don’t kick the shit outta people when they wrong you, even though you can! You’re nice, easy to talk to, just...so pure! And everyone doesn’t care. You should have anything you want. But, me…I’m nothing. I have no purpose here. I shouldn’t BE here! They shouldn’t have brought me back. I only cause chaos. I can’t forget what I’ve done in the past…” She trailed off for a moment.

Things of the past? What was she talking about? Beating kids up in school? He didn’t find that worthy of her doing this, so he ruled it out. Though, she seemed to be referring to SOMETHING he didn’t know of. Well, he wasn’t going to ponder too much at the moment. While most of it had dried, there was still light trails of crimson liquid trickling down her arm as she started to speak again.

“I can’t do anything. I’m not going anywhere, Azzie.” She whispered, her tone being quieter this time around. He noticed it, looking into her eyes. He saw tears fall from her lowered eyes, sniffling some. The first time he’d ever seen Chara cry. And it was killing him every second he looked. “I can’t muster enough motivation to do much of anything. My existence is pointless. I can’t even tell my best friend that I love him more than a best friend!” She rambled on, continuing to berate himself.

Asriel heard the last sentence, his mind going blank. Did he hear that right? Chara loved him? He was completely overwhelmed at the moment, but he had a task he wanted to get accomplished. He felt tears roll down his cheeks, but he still managed to reach forward and grab Chara’s hand. At this, she looked up to see his face. Upon seeing his tears, it was like a switch flicked in her head. She stopped crying herself, reaching forward and wiping his tears off his face.

“Chara…please, stop.” Asriel begged quietly, sounding pretty weak. “I can’t bear to listen to you say those lies about yourself.”

“Azzie…”

“I couldn’t be here without you! You’re the closest person I have!” He began in a pretty emotional manner. “Please, don’t do this! T-There are better ways! We can help you! We all love you! I-I love you!”

Chara was a bit taken aback, much how he was when he first heard her say it to him. Asriel loved her? Well, she’ll be damned. She sort of stared at him, suddenly feeling like a complete asshole for ever self-harming in the first place. She didn’t realize how much damage she could cause to people other than herself. She frowned slightly, giving him a kiss on the forehead. It seemed to always make him feel better, even when it was platonic. He sniffed, his crying ceasing enough for her to feel a little better.

“I’m sorry, Azzie…I really am.” Chara apologized, sighing. “I didn’t see another way…I just felt like I needed to be punished.” She added onto her statement. In response, he shook his head.

“Y-You don’t need to be…” He replied to her. Chara went silent for a moment before speaking up again.  
“Hey, this is probably the worst time to ask, but you know me. When you said you loved me, did you mean in the best friend way?” She inquired. She could tell he was blushing under his fur, but he shook his head. “Romantic way?” She received a nod at that. She couldn’t help the smile that graced her lips. He glanced up at her, seeing it.

“Did…did you mean in the best friend way?” He asked sheepishly. She shook her head.

“Nope. Romantic way.” She told him, seemingly cheery. He looked surprised, but she could see his tail give a small wag.

“R-Really?!” He half-asked, half-shouted. She gave him a pet and a kiss on the cheek. 

“Really.” She assured. He seemed happy for a second before he looked down at her arms and his face fell again. She looked down at her cuts. “Oh. Right. These. Hang on, I’ll go clean up.”

She got up, beginning to head to the bathroom, but he grabbed her hand. She halted, turning back to him with a questioning gaze. He took a deep breath before he looked up at her, seemingly having steeled himself enough.

“I want to heal you.” He stated. While it seemed simple enough, Chara stared. Then, she sighed, sitting back down.

“Azzie, look, I appreciate it, but I don’t want to be healed. It’ll probably just feel weird or some shit.”

“Please, Chara? I just…I need to.” 

Chara was about to decline again, but Asriel gave her this look. Fuck that look. She bit her lip, seemingly trying to stay strong. He held it for about a minute before she just let out a huge sigh, covering her eyes and shaking her head.

“Fine, fine! Just stop trying to kill me with your adorableness.”

He blushed under his fur, but looked satisfied as he brightened some. Now, he had been practicing with his mom, considering she was the best healer he knew. He wanted to be able to do it in case something happened, such as this. He gently grabbed her arms and closed his eyes, concentrating. Before she knew it, Chara felt something. She looked down at his hands on her arms.

There was a green glow beginning to envelop her arms. She was quite amazed by the magic she was seeing, never having witnessed it. It was…warm. It made her feel more at ease than she was. Relaxed to the point that she felt some of the depression she had prior slip away as she closed her eyes. She could get used to this. She sighed in relaxation before she felt it melt away. She let her eyes flutter open before she looked down at her arms. They were completely healed, void of any cuts she had made today and days prior. She stared at them before looking up at Asriel. He was smiling softly, tilting his head in a manner she thought was always adorable.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He asked warmly. She leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug without warning. He blushed under his fur, returning it nonetheless.

“Thank you. I don’t know how you made it feel like that, but it was fucking amazing.” She almost exclaimed in her exhilaration. He gave a little laugh at her response.

“Well, that’s good! Now, I have to heal the other ones. Like, on your legs?”

She immediately pulled off of him, nodding as she let him do so. He began to heal her legs, humming idly. He seemed way happier as he watched the cuts disappear and she had zero problems with letting him do so. Chara sighed when she felt him finish his healing, watching the green glow disperse. He whipped his forehead, smiling in satisfaction.

“So! Hope my healing was satisfactory!” He chirped, his tail giving a small wag. She smiled, giving his head a pet.

“Aw, you’re so adorable, Azzie.” She laughed. She then thought for a moment, humming. “Hey, I’m about to do something and I don’t want you freak out or anything, alright?”

“Uh, okay! Sure thing!”

She grabbed him by the collar and then pulled him into a kiss, catching him off guard by a landslide. Despite this, it didn’t take long for him to relax and melt into said kiss, enjoying it while it lasted. Then, the two pulled away what seemed like a minute later, panting to catch their breath. Chara was wearing a satisfied grin.  
“You have NO idea how long I have been waiting to do that.” She chuckled, releasing his shirt. Asriel was sitting there, silent for a moment as he looked completely starstruck. He gave a slow nod, letting out a lovesick chuckle before clearing his throat.

“That was…awesome.” He mumbled, eliciting a giggle from the other. Chara yawned softly, stretching. Well, she was clean of cuts now. 

“Hey, I’m kinda tired.” She said, despite her yawn. Asriel nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, me too, honestly.” He agreed. She smiled softly.

“Wanna cuddle and take a nap?” She offered. He seemed to brighten right away, giving a playful, skeptical look.

“Really? YOU want to cuddle?” He asked her. She rolled her eyes, giggling.

“Are you gonna deny it when I’m offering for once?”

“Nope!”

Chara sat up, offering her hand. He took it, standing up with her assistance. She led them out of her room and into his. She liked his better anyways. It smelled like him and she felt better in there. He didn’t necessarily have a problem with it, crawling into his bed with her. Luckily, it was big enough for them. She could comfortable, nuzzling up against Asriel and getting a nuzzle in return. She idly pet his head, causing him to drift off slowly.

“Sleep well, Azzie.” She whispered, planting a kiss on his head. He smiled before he was out completely.

Chara found herself finding comfort in his sleeping frame. She sighed silently, closing her eyes. This feeling of familiarity when sleeping in the same bed with her beloved…she missed it dearly. She drifted off herself, smiling in her sleep.

She could get used to this warmth.


End file.
